Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones are valuable scientific instruments in Antarctica but are not toys for tourists. That’s the ruling from the latest meeting of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). For the upcoming 2015-2016 season, the IAATO members have agreed not to allow the recreational use of drones in the coastal areas of Antarctica. …
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The number of tourists to Antarctica for the 2015/2016 season is expected to be the second largest in history with 40,029 visitors. The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) reports only the 2007/2008 season had higher numbers with 46,265 people. …
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In this podcast, we speak to Michael Smith about Tom Crean and his heroic exploits in Antarctica during three of the great polar expeditions, under the leadership of Scott and Shackleton. …
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Icebergs are created when large chunks of freshwater ice break off Antarctic ice shelves or glaciers and calve into the Southern Ocean. To be classified as an iceberg, the ice extruding from the water must be at least five metres above sea level, be between 30-50 metres thick, and must cover an area of at least 500 square meters. Icebergs can have a direct effect on the sea bed, scouring the seafloor where it makes contact.
But who monitors icebergs? And how big can they get? …
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Peter Beggs of Antarctica New Zealand talks about his countries long-standing commitment to science research on the ice, and the permanent station on Ross Island, Scott Base, established in 1957. …
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This conference brought together international experts and NZ’s leading policy makers, scientists and industry representatives, to showcase adaptation strategies for managing sea level rise in NZ. …
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University of Canterbury (UC) scientists and Antarctic researchers from Italy have struck “research gold” by uncovering the commuting secrets of Antarctic killer whales.

Gateway Antarctica scientist Dr Regina Eisert led a team at Scott Base during the 2014-2015 Antarctic summer that studied killer whales as part of a larger research programme on the Ross Sea ecosystem involving NIWA, Landcare Research and Lincoln University.

Eisert says most killer whales near Scott Base are found to be Type-C, which are common in the Ross Sea and thought to prefer fish prey, including Antarctic toothfish.

“We wanted to determine whether a decline in the toothfish fishery in the Ross Sea poses a risk to Type-C killer whales, including finding out how many there are in the Ross Sea and where they feed,” says Eisert.

Dr Regina Eisert of Gateway Antarctica, University of Canterbury, NZ.

At the same time, about 360km north of Scott Base, Italian whale experts Dr Giancarlo Lauriano (Institute for Environmental Protection and Research) and Dr Simone Panigada (Tethys Research Institute) deployed satellite transmitters on killer whales in Terra Nova Bay to determine the whales’ movements.

Eisert says the two teams from New Zealand and Italy hit “research gold” when their results independently verified that Type-C killer whales were commuting between Scott Base and the waters off Northland in New Zealand.

UC student Ekaterina Ovsyanikova, whose work is supervised by Eisert and renowned killer whale expert Dr Ingrid Visser from the Orca Research Trust, discovered that the same female Type-C killer whale had been photographed repeatedly in New Zealand and in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.

“This suggested that the killer whale had been commuting between Scott Base and Northland,” says Eisert.

“Satellite data received by Dr Lauriano and Dr Panigada showed that the whales swam due north towards New Zealand, confirming beyond a doubt the findings suggested by photo-identification of Ovsyanikova and Visser.

“If Antarctic killer whales roam all the way from Scott Base to the North Island of New Zealand, rather than stay in a relatively confined area as some scientists believe, it crucially changes our understanding of the ecology of these key top predators and the potential threats they may face.